Friday, March 20, 2009

BU Coaching Rumor Roundup: Masiello is just not that into you

Out of the three Louisville assistant coaches mentioned for the BU head coaching job, Steve Masiello is clearly the most qualified. Walter McCarty has been an assistant for only 2 years and Richard Pitino Jr. is younger than me - but Masiello has been doing this for about 8 years, and is Louisville's top assistant. He will be a very good coach some day.

After Dennis Wolff was fired, the Boston Globe's Mark Blaudschun reported that Masiello was on the early list, and that was published a few other places. Turns out though, even before Blauschun came out with his list, the local Louisville writer knew better. Rick Bozich wrote for the Louisville Courier-Journal:

Word I've gotten is that two U of L assistants (Walter McCarty and Richard Pitino) ARE interested and one (Steve Masiello) is not.

Masiello is the most experience coach in the group, but he's reportedly looking for a bigger opportunity.

You kidding me?? It doesn't get any bigger than BU baby!! Ok, so maybe it does get bigger than BU, and he will probably get one of those jobs. He could probably get something in the CAA/MAC/A-10/C-USA range as a first gig.

However, there aren't many of those jobs open this year, so he will probably be back at Louisville next year. If BU were to convince him to come to Beantown, it would be a major coup. But don't hold your breath Terrier fans.

7 Comments:

Do you really think that Rick is not in complete control of his asst coaches. DUH. Rick decides EVERYTHING. Do you think it is luck that so many of his past asst coaches get head jobs. This is a perfect job for his son. Masiello has nothing to say in the matter. Pitino will take care of him in due time. This job was filled before Wolff got fired. Lynch is just going through the motions now. He already knew who he wanted. Pitino and BU have a relationship. This is a done deal. Do you think Lynch would fire Wolff without having the next guy in place. Stop reading the newspapers and getting quotes from asst coaches. The deal is DONE

I could see Masiello going to a lower-level school in a major conference like DePaul in the Big East. He is by far the most qualified (of the U of L assts.) and was hoping that he would be the next coach here. I'd say he is indeed done because having read Bozich's columns since I was 13, he's usually right on these kinds of things.

Who gives a F about Steve Masiello. What has he ever done? Get Rickyboy's morning paper and coffee?He might turn out to be a good head coach someday, or he might not. If he's not interested, so what? Move on! Not many people had ever heard of him before, and we'll survive if he goes somewhere else or stays as Pitino's butler.

You can look all around college basketball and find successful former Pitino assistants: Herb Sendek at Arizona St., Tubby Smith at Minnesota, Billy Donovan at Florida, just to name a few. The percentage of Pitino proteges that go on to become successful head coaches is pretty remarkable. Besides, Masiello is consistently rated as one of the top recruiters in the country and is the main assistant on a team that is the number one overall seed in the tournament. Trust me, he's qualified